


Blu Shift

by allislaughter



Category: The LEGO Movie (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Space Pirate, Gen, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-07-25
Packaged: 2018-02-06 07:17:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1849231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allislaughter/pseuds/allislaughter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain Benjamin Blu, scourge of the galaxy, has attacked many ships and taken plenty of lives. Enough is enough, so one police officer finds himself on a mission to stop the notorious space pirate once and for all. He is determined to succeed where so many others have failed no matter what it takes, even if he has to take Captain Blu with him as he goes down in flames.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

"They say his ship is black as space, so you never know he's there until he gets you in his tractor beam."

"He'd attack any ship in his territory, without remorse. Takes anything of interest… Parts, supplies, whatever… If you're unlucky and he likes your ship, he'll take the whole thing and leave you floating in space – sometimes without a spacesuit."

"One man on his own? No crew or anything?"

"Nada. He works alone and never takes prisoners. You're either killed on site or left to die in space."

"C'mon, he has to be working with the Black Hole Gang or something. What does he even do with the parts and ships he steals?"

"Nobody knows! He just comes, takes what he wants, and leaves! No one knows where he came from or what he's planning, but one thing's for sure, you do _not_ want to meet him."

The ship lurched, throwing the three of them towards the back of the break room. The flashing red and blaring alarm sent them to their feet as they hurried back to their posts in a panic. On the bridge, the captain shouted out their orders, doing what they could to get a handle on the situation.

"This is Captain Benjamin Blu of the spaceship Umbra," a voice crackled over the communications system, sending chills down the spines of every person who heard it. "Turn off your thrusters and prepare to be boarded."

"And if we refuse?" the captain countered.

"Then I have some photon torpedoes with your name right on it," Captain Blu laughed. "C'mon, dude, cooperate and maybe I'll let you live. Or if you want, my finger's right on the trigger to kill you all right now…"

The captain motioned to the helm, and the ship began to float in space. All along the starboard side, crewmen and passengers could see blue lights come to life, illuminating the hull of a pitch black spacecraft.

Down below, the security team armed themselves, waiting for the space pirate to come through. The doors wooshed aside, and the form of a man stepped in, a cracked yellow visor covering his face and a blue spacesuit encasing his body.

"Give me what I want and no one gets hurt," Captain Blu ordered, his voice computerized through his helmet.

"Give it up, Blu," the security chief ordered. "We have you outgunned and outnumbered."

"Please…" He laughed and rolled his shoulders back, his hands going to the box on the front of his belt. "Call me Benny."

Benny pressed a button on the box, and the security team stared as nothing happened.

The security chief nodded at the box. "What was…?” He paused when Benny held up his hand and narrowed his eyes when Benny began to lower his fingers one at a time. "Whatever you're doing…"

The last of Benny's fingers lowered, and the ship rattled and tilted, with only Benny staying upright. The security team fell into each other as Benny calmly walked the opposite direction.

The next day, news channels reported of what was found of the passenger ship, Corona, the death count, the significantly smaller survivor count, and the recovered communications log between the infamous Captain Blu and the poor ship he ransacked.

As he heard the report, the man set down his coffee mug and stared, only looking away once the doorbell rang. He paused the news and went to the door, bracing himself as he opened it. "Yes…?" he asked timidly, sliding his glasses up to see the courier better.

"Are you Danny Copper?" the courier asked.

Sunglasses switched in place and the man formed a scowl. "Just give me the news already. I've got a feeling I know what you're going to say."

The courier nodded and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Mr. Copper. Your parent's weren't… Found amongst the survivors of the Corona… They weren't found at all."

He gripped the side of the door and breathed out harshly. "Is that all?"

"Well, if you need grief counseling…"

"Pass," he ground out. "What else?"

The courier flinched. "Just that President Business will be making a statement addressing this matter tomorrow, and you're invited to attend…"

"Along with all the other next of kin of the victims?" he demanded. "Why hasn't anyone _done_ anything about that pirate yet to make sure there _aren't_ any victims?"

"You're welcome to ask President Business that tomorrow if you attend," the courier squeaked out. "Once again, I'm sorry, Mr. Copper." They pulled out a few pamphlets and held them out. "Take these. They'll contain anything you might need for this matter."

He snatched the pamphlets away and slammed the door shut. He shut his eyes and waited to hear the courier drive off. "We're clear," he muttered just before the glasses switched back in place.

Sobs racked his body as he sank to the floor, crumpling the pamphlets up and sliding his opposite palm under a lens in a futile attempt to stop the tears.

The security image of Captain Benjamin Blu filled the screen of the television in the next room over before the screen flickered out into sleep mode.


	2. Chapter One

President Business approached the platform, nodding as his mere presence caused the crowd to hush in anticipation. Cameras recorded his every move and people sat on edge for just what he'd say.

"Hello everyone," he started. "As you know, I'm President Business, president of the Octan Corporation and, of course, Octan Planet, the planet that the Corona started its voyage from carrying people from many worlds, many of whom were Octans themselves. This tragedy is just one of many that Captain Blu has caused, and it's safe to say that it won't be the last."

He paused and blinked away the light spots from the flashing cameras around him. Taking a breath, he continued. "Now I'm just as anxious as all of you to see this matter taken care of and Captain Blu captured and taken to justice. Many planets have already put together teams to try and stop Captain Blu, and others put out rewards for the first person who can capture him, dead or alive. Granted, many of these attempts just ended with those people becoming victims as well…"

The crowd murmured around him, and he frowned and held up his hand to quiet them. "So I, at the Octan Corporation, have been preparing a team of robots, programmed to find and take in Captain Blu. With these robots, we won't have to send people on suicide missions to stop Captain Blu, and any robots lost in the mission can be recovered and repaired easily. We won't have our lives put in danger by any old space pirate, and we will soon be freed from his tyranny!"

The crowd cheered, and President Business smiled at all of them, until a voice called out above the din.

"How long will it take to make the robot army?" a man asked, standing up from the VIP box.

President Business squinted at them, hesitating on how to handle answering the question of one those directly affected by the Corona tragedy, whoever the heck they were. "We will have the robots ready as soon as possible…"

"How long?" the man repeated again, his fists tightening almost threateningly.

The crowd turned silent, each of them staring at President Business as his eyes darted from the man to them and back again. President Business gulped and peeped out "Six to eight weeks."

Once again, the crowd uproared, this time belting out complaints and rude words.

"Do you know how many more people could be attacked in eight weeks?!" someone yelled.

President Business winced. "Well, I…"

"Are we just supposed to stay planetside forever if this guy isn't caught?" another person demanded.

"Everyone, please…"

"How can we even feel safe knowing he's out there?" somebody cried.

"Alright, look!" President Business shouted. "I know it seems like a long time, but that's the fastest we can go!" He glanced at the man who asked the initial question, noticing him sitting pensively with his hands folded in front of his face below his shades, and he then looked at the crowd again.

"We will do what we can to go faster, but there _are_ limitations that have to be accounted for. No one here, on this planet or otherwise, should have to risk their lives to stop this space pirate, and so I need to ask for your patience as we finalize these plans. It may be safer for you to stay where you are for now, and yes you may be stuck for a long time, but I can promise peace of mind once we finish these preparations. Captain Blu will be brought to justice in due time, just you wait and see."

He waited a moment and watched the audience mumble to themselves. He sighed and leaned forward. "Thank you for your time, and have faith that everything will be taken care of."

Standing straight once more, President Business adjusted his suit before walking off stage. He let himself into a private room, pausing in the doorway to address security. "No one but security gets in for the next two hours, got it?"

"Yes sir," the robotic voices answered in unison.

He nodded and closed the door behind him, and began changing out of his suit and into more comfortable clothes. As he poured himself a glass of water, he heard the door click shut. He frowned and turned around, gasping and tossing the water into the face of the person just in front of him.

The man from the VIP box swiped the water from his face. "Sir…"

"How did you get past security?" President Business demanded. He paused when the man held up a badge. "Oh… You are security. Bad Cop, I can't say I recognized you in civilian clothes."

"I… Felt uncomfortable in black at the moment, sir," Bad Cop answered.

"Yeah?" President Business crossed his arms. "Well I felt uncomfortable on stage when you asked that question. Maybe I ought to throw more water on you. What were you _thinking_?"

Bad Cop pursed his lips and didn't say a word. President Business watched him and slowly softened his expression.

"You weren't sitting in the VIP box for security measures, were you?" he asked. "That's right, your parents were on the Corona, weren't they?"

"Yes, sir," Bad Cop answered. "The… Other guy's not taking it so well."

"Alright then," President Business sighed, shaking his head. "What do you want to do?"

Bad Cop scowled. "Go after him. Bring him to justice."

Nodding, President Business chuckled and smiled. "Sounds like a plan. Except, oh that's right, you're just a policeman. Not even _space_ police but planetside. How exactly do you expect to go after a notorious space pirate and _live_?"

He sighed and looked away. President Business put a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, Bad Cop, I know you want to do _something_ ," he told him. "But sometimes you have to just wait for a better plan. Like I said, in six to eight weeks, we'll have the specially designed robotic team ready to take down this jerk and if they bring him back alive I'll even let you take a few whacks at him. But until then, you're going to need to forget about it. Maybe go to that grief counseling I'm offering."

"Sir, with all due respect," Bad Cop answered, "I don't think I can."

President Business frowned. "Wait, can forget about it or can go to grief counseling?"

"Both." Bad Cop folded his arms behind his back. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Besides what I told you?" He sighed and shook his head. "Just try not to go crazy and go after Captain Blu yourself." He paused and watched Bad Cop for a moment. "That's not going to stop you, is it?"

"Probably not, sir," he answered, bouncing once on his heels.

"In that case, let me at least get you a decent ship and supplies," President Business answered, shaking his head at him. "But if anyone asks, I don't endorse this and had nothing to do with it."

Bad Cop gawked for a moment and then slowly nodded. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"Also, if you break or lose anything, it's coming out of your paycheck," President Business added. He walked pulled out a remote and pressed a button. The back wall slid aside to reveal an elevator that President Business motioned into. "After you, Bad Cop."

Once they were both inside, President Business smacked a button on the inside, and the wall closed in front of them as the elevator began to lower underground.

"Have you ever been in space before, Bad Cop?" President Business asked.

"A few times, yes," Bad Cop answered, watching the digital number slowly count up the more floors they went down.

"So you already know the basics about space safety and what to do in an emergency?"

"I've read various manuals and instructions prior to all trips."

"Good." The floor jumped in time to a ding, and President Business stepped forward just as the doors pulled aside. "New job for you, fellas!" he called out to the robotic workers on the two acre expanse of factory floor. He motioned to Bad Cop and grinned. "Get Bad Cop here a spacesuit, a ship, supplies, and weapons. He's going after Captain Blu."

"Yes sir," the robots chimed, a few of them swarming around Bad Cop and pulling him away for measurements.

Bad Cop scowled and bore it, gritting his teeth as he waited for it to be over.

 _"Do you really think it's worth it?"_ a quiet voice asked from the back of his mind. _"You know Mummy and Daddy wouldn't want us to do something like this just because of them."_

 _"But what do_ you _want to do?"_ he asked his other self.

His other self stayed quiet for a moment before hesitantly answering. _"It's crazy to just go after a space pirate like this."_

_"But...?"_

_"But with what he did to Mummy and Daddy, I guess we have to."_

Bad Cop cracked a small smile. _"Let's book him."_

"You know, Bad Cop," President Business said as he approached. "I was expecting you to go after Captain Blu eventually. Shame it has to be for this reason."

"Sir?" Bad Cop asked.

Shrugging, he answered. "Well, you know, some intergalactic criminal, and you being the best darn policeman this side of the quadrant… If anyone could catch him, it'll be you, and all of the rewards you'd get would obviously be helpful, since I'm sure a portion of it would go to the person who supplied you with the materials to stop him, right?"

Bad Cop pursed his lips and nodded. "Of course, sir."

"Great," President Business laughed. "We already have a spaceship ready for you, and we have a suit that'll fit you. Do you know how to use laser weaponry?"

"Uh," Bad Cop cleared his throat. "Well…"

President Business frowned. "Do you even know how to drive a spaceship?"

"Not entirely…"

"Whelp…" He clasped his hands together and grinned. "Guess who's going on a crash course space study starting... Now!"

The robots pulled Bad Cop away again, this time pulling him into another room to go over every little detail he'd need to know as fast as his mind could comprehend.

After what seemed like days later, Bad Cop stumbled out of the room, holding his head as his mind whirled through all the information thrown into there so rapidly.

"Hey, just in time for dinner!" President Business threw his arm over Bad Cop's shoulder and led him away. "It's Taco Tuesday! Not bad for a last meal before you spend days on end in space, huh? Not too late to back out if you want."

Bad Cop shook his head. "No, I… I have to do this, sir."

"Fine, fine." President Business nodded. "Then let's get some dinner, you get a good night's rest, and tomorrow morning you can be out in space tracking down pirates and avenging your parents. You can do it, buddy!"

The next morning, President Business waved as Bad Cop's ship disappeared through the atmosphere. He leaned over to the robot next to him and whispered "He can't do it."

Turning on his heel, he addressed the rest of the workers. "Whelp, let's increase production to get that robot army after Captain Blu pronto! Hey, if we're lucky, we can even get him before he slaughters Bad Cop in horrible, gruesome ways! Ha, wouldn't that be something..."


	3. Chapter Two

"Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling…"

Good Cop switched in, interrupting Bad Cop's singing, and looked out into the inky cloak of space and pinpoint of twinkling stars light-years away. "It's very pretty, isn't it?"

Bad Cop sighed. "Scary, more like it. Even if we don't find Captain Blu, there's still so many other space crooks to deal with. The Black Hole Gang, for one. Not to mention how quickly we'll die if something goes wrong…"

Good Cop sighed. "Don't be so negative… It was _your_ idea to do this, after all."

"You went along with it!"

Sighing, Good Cop leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Do you think they're still out there? They weren't found, after all…"

Bad Cop shook his head. "Can't be. Captain Blu doesn't take prisoners. Something else probably got them. A space monster, maybe. Just don't get your hopes up."

The cockpit filled in the silence with various beeps and trills of sensors and readings. Bad Cop glanced over them, frowning at the lack of change, lack of idea where to go, and the vastness of the galaxy around him.

"Lonely out here, isn't it?" Good Cop laughed nervously.  "Are we just going to wait for Captain Blu to show up?"

Groaning, Bad Cop jabbed at the controls and began to steer the ship through space. "This is pointless. This place is too huge for us to find him without any idea where to go. We need to get a lead somehow…"

As bright blue lights suddenly flashed before him, his eyes widened and he threw the steering wheel to the left, almost scraping the side of the dark ship. "The Umbra," he mumbled.

Before he could do anything, his ship froze in space, caught by the Umbra's tractor beam. Furrowing his brow, he looked around at his controls and then smiled and flipped a switch. His back thrusters folded out towards the front of his ship and sent him careening towards the Umbra before the tractor beam let him loose and the pirate ship pulled away in time. He reversed the thrusters enough that he floated in front of the Umbra and he opened communications, grinding his teeth at the voice that came over the speakers.

"Dude, you almost hit me! Do you have a death wish?!"

"No, but you do," Bad Cop answered. "I'm Bad Cop of Octan Planet, and I hereby place you under arrest."

"A policeman after a space pirate?" Captain Blu ridiculed. "Get back planetside, copper. You're out of your league."

"Not unless I'm bringing you with me," Bad Cop spat out.

"Kick moon rocks, copper," Captain Blu retorted. "No way I'm wasting time on you."

"No way _I'm_ letting _you_ escape." Bad Cop slammed his fist on a button, and weapons extended out the side of his ship. "We can do this the easy way, or…"

"Plasma missiles, not bad," Captain Blu laughed. "But you do realize a simple neutrino wave renders them useless?"

Bad Cop narrowed his eyes and pressed another button, only to hear the beeping complaints of a weapons error. "Darn, darn, darn," he muttered.

"Alright, copper," Captain Blu growled. "The name's Benny. You want to fight me so badly, then bring it. Out in space, in one minute. Or, if you want, I'll give you that minute to turn and run. Your choice."

Bad Cop growled and swiveled his chair, rushing to his feet and to get his helmet on.

_"Bad, maybe we should rethink this,"_ Good Cop warned as Bad grabbed a laser gun and mounted it to his wrist.

"I'm not letting him escape now that I've got the chance." Bad Cop pulled on his jetpack and rushed to the launch tubes. "Now or never, Good."

The silence gave him his answer and he hit the button for the tube door to close and then fire him out of the ship. He stood on top of it and waited for Benny.

"So you're here to fight after all," Benny taunted through the suits' communications as he landed on top of Bad Cop's ship. "You know, dude, you have a lot of guts. But then again, so did a lot of other airheads who went up against me."

"I'm not going to let you get away," Bad Cop growled, turning his wrist laser towards Benny.

"C'mon, dude," Benny sighed. "You're making it really hard not to just kill you right away."

Good Cop blinked and lowered his wrist. "Well… Did you want to talk about it, then…?"

"What the heck?" Benny stepped back. "Dude, what? Are you literally both Good Cop AND Bad Cop?"

Good Cop nodded. "Yes, just about."

Benny laughed. "Alright, I'll talk about it. Here, come with me…"

Benny's jetpack burst to life, and he shot forward, grabbing Good Cop just as he changed back to Bad. He pinned Bad Cop's arms behind his back and pulled him away from his ship. Bad Cop struggled in his grip, snarling at him.

"Let go!" he demanded.

"No," Benny answered. "I want you to watch this."

Bad Cop felt one of Benny's hands go behind his back, presumably to that box on his belt. He glanced up at the Umbra and saw a hatch open and fire something out. Benny turned Bad Cop towards his own ship, and the bomb collided with the hull, detonating on contact and blowing the small spacecraft into molten pieces of metal.

"Let that be a lesson, copper." Benny brought his hand in front of him again, now holding a handle that extended into a Stardust Blade. "You can't stop me, so don't even try."

Bad Cop closed his eyes tight, expecting the worst, but blinked them open again when he merely felt something kick against him. He watched Benny rocket back to the Umbra and tried to follow, but found himself floating away in the direction he was kicked.

"Darn, darn…" He watched as the lights on the Umbra faded and the ship's engines came to life. The Umbra shot away, a dark spot against the blackness of space, and him unable to follow. "Darny DARN!"

_"Sorry, Bad,"_ Good Cop winced in the back of his mind. _"That was my fault."_

_"Well now we're going to die alone in space,"_ Bad Cop thought, watching the remains of his ship float past him. _"How much oxygen do we have in this suit?"_

_"I don't know,"_ Good Cop sighed.

Bad Cop sighed and crossed his arms. _"What do you think will kill us? Oxygen loss, dehydration or starvation, colliding with something in space, or eaten by space monsters?"_

Good Cop frowned, but soon paled as a shadow began to cover him and the remains of the ship. He managed to turn around to see the gaping maw of something about to swallow him whole. "Space monsters!" he cried.

Bad Cop groaned. "Space monsters," he agreed.


	4. Chapter Three

The gaping maw swallowed him and all of the debris before closing shut around them. He floated around squinting through his shades and his helmet at the darkness. A red glow radiated around him suddenly, and he glanced around, spying the metallic insides of some kind of ship. Metal claws began to grab each piece of debris and sort it, and one clasped onto his back, pulling him despite his struggles.

A pair of hands gripped his shoulders and pulled him away from the claw and then over a railing. The person righted him up and then waved, and Good Cop waved back. The person motioned for him to follow them, and they kicked off the railing into another room. Bad Cop sighed and followed suit, stopping once the person caught him. The person helped him stand against the wall and grip a handhold before they did the same and pressed a key code to close the door.

In the clean white light, Bad Cop could see the orange safety spacesuit of the other person, though he still couldn't tell who they may be. The room began to move, just as gravity returned and he and the person fell the few inches to the floor. Once the elevator stopped, the person walked out and Bad Cop followed, watching as the person removed their helmet revealing themselves as a messy haired human.

"Well, I, uh," the man stammered. "I hope you breathe oxygen. And, you know, can survive in a human-designed environment…"

Bad Cop hesitated and then removed his helmet as well, holding it under his arm. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"Oh!" The man held out his hand and smiled. "Emmet Brickowski, crewman of the freighter Scarp. The, uh… The _only_ crewman."

He raised his brow. "The… Scarp?"

"Ha, yeah…" Emmet ran his hand through his hair, smoothing it out. "Funny name, huh? Considering this freighter, uh…" He coughed into his hand while muttering "hauls garbage."

Bad Cop sighed and shook his head. "Well at least you saved me from dying in space…"

"Yeah, why… Why were you out there anyway?" Emmet motioned for Bad Cop to follow him again. "Did a meteor hit your ship or something?"

"Something like that," Bad Cop muttered. He followed Emmet to the galley and placed his helmet next to Emmet's on a table before watching Emmet search through various disks. "Food replicator?" he asked.

"Yeah," Emmet chuckled. "Glamorous, huh? Just pick a disk, put it in, and get some colorful brick that is somehow the food you asked for. I also have _actual_ coffee, if you want that."

Good Cop smiled. "Yes, please."

Emmet jumped back, dropping most of his disks. "Woah! That was… That was _awesome_. Are you an alien?"

"Human," Good Cop answered. "Though I understand the confusion."

"Are you sure?" Emmet pressed on. "I mean, the only people I know who can change like that are Cloud Cuckoolians…"

"Are you making the coffee or not?" Bad Cop growled.

"Right, yes sir!" Emmet rushed to the coffee maker, pulling out supplies and setting everything up.

Bad Cop bent down and picked up the fallen disks, setting them on the counter above.

"So, uh…" Emmet tapped his arm as he waited for the coffee to brew. "I'm guessing it… That it _wasn't_ a meteor that hit your ship."

"What makes you say that?" Good Cop asked, smiling.

"Your jetpack…" Emmet answered, pointing at it. "It's cut straight through."

Bad Cop frowned and pulled off the jetpack, frowning as he inspected the damage. He ran his finger over the yellow residue of the Stardust Blade and scowled. He then hurled the jetpack at the wall.

"Woah, hey!" Emmet called out, holding up his hands to try and calm him. "Take it easy, mister. There's only so much damage a garbage scow can take."

Good Cop frowned and picked up the jetpack, placing it on a nearby table. "Sorry, sorry… Bad Cop's just a little stressed…"

"Bad Cop?" Emmet asked, his face brightening. "You're a policeman? Are you going after some intergalactic criminal? Someone in the Black Hole Gang, maybe?"

"No," Bad Cop frowned. "I'm after Ben- Benjamin Blu."

Emmet gasped. "No way… Captain Benjamin Blu?" He squealed. "That it _so awesome_. Completely crazy, but _awesome_!"

Bad Cop sighed and rolled his eyes. "You don't get off this freighter much, do you, kid?"

He chuckled nervously and shrugged. "It'd be better with some company, but it's a dirty job and someone has to do it. Sure, it's long months out on my own, collecting space debris and taking it to collection sites, but the pay's good..."

"Whatever, kid," Bad Cop sighed. "Look, is there some place you can drop me off so I can get a new ship? I need to get back on Benny's trail."

"You're actually going to go after him again?" Emmet asked. "You are one _seriously_ tough dude. I'll actually be stopping at a collection site tomorrow, since your ship kinda filled my quota... You could probably get one there. They do all sorts of things out of the recycled materials, after all."

"Really now?" Bad Cop asked, lifting his brow.

"Yep! They're the masters of building things out of any parts imaginable." Emmet sighed. "Man, wouldn't it be great to learn to do that kind of thing? Build whatever you want out of anything you have available instead of hauling garbage around, y'know?"

Bad Cop flattened his brow. "No."

Emmet chuckled nervously and pulled out mugs for the coffee. "Well, okay, I guess you'd think differently. I mean you're a policeman tracking down space crooks. That's already a much better job."

Good Cop took the coffee and thanked Emmet, and Bad Cop brought it to his lips to drink. Emmet worked on putting various creamers and syrups in his before drinking it.

"So… Captain Blu…" Emmet asked. "What's he like?"

"A huge jerk," Bad Cop mumbled.

Emmet shrugged. "Yeah, I believe that. I'm lucky he never went after me. Hey, is it true he has cracks in his helmet?"

"Yes," Good Cop nodded.

"Man, makes you wonder what he is, doesn't it?" Emmet asked, in awe. "I mean, wearing a spacesuit that hides how he looks is one thing, but having cracks in the helmet even when he's out in space? He can't be human. He would have died from oxygen loss otherwise."

"Hmm…" Bad Cop furrowed his brow. "That's true… Though how many aliens can survive in space without air?"

Emmet shook his head. "Got me. But there are tons of aliens out there. I'm sure some of them can survive in space."

"Hmm…" Bad Cop hummed again. He leaned on the counter and finished off his coffee, then glancing at the food disks to the side. "Which of these actually taste decent?"

"None of them really," Emmet chuckled sheepishly. "I'm partial to the tacos one though."

Bad Cop groaned. "What about the… What is this, croissants? How does that even work?"

"Space magic, obviously," he answered with a nod. He flinched at Bad Cop's glare and took the croissant disk to put in the replicator. "Or, uh, space technology that I don't understand. Weird, I don't remember seeing the croissant one before. What else do I have?"

As the replicator prepared the croissant, Emmet searched through the other disks, gasping in delight each time he found something he didn't know he had. Bad Cop rolled his eyes and grabbed the strange crescent from the replicator, poking the hard surface with a frown.

"How much water am I allowed to use before you resupply?" Bad Cop asked.

"Go ahead and use as much as you want," Emmet answered, throwing his disk into the replicator. "The Scarp will be refueling and restocking at the collection site tomorrow, so you'll have enough to even take a shower before tomorrow if you want."

Good Cop nodded and got a few drops of water from the sink and dropped them onto the croissant brick. It softened enough for him to rip off pieces and eat it.

"Wow, what did you do?" Emmet asked. "That wasn't in the instructions for this thing…"

"You have an old model," Bad Cop answered. "Adding a few drops of water loosens it up, and they realized that and put that in the instructions for the newer models."

"Really? Let me try…" Emmet brought his chicken wings over to the sink and followed Good Cop's example and then bit into one of the wings. "Oh, cool, that really saves a lot of work on my teeth."

Good Cop finished up his croissant and then waited for Emmet to finish his food. "You said something about a shower?"

"Right, right. I'll show you where to go and then get a room set up for you for the night."

"Thank you," Good Cop nodded at him before following him out of the galley, grabbing his helmet and broken jetpack along the way.


	5. Chapter Four

Good Cop sat behind Emmet and hummed happily as they approached a planet. "What planet is that?" he asked Emmet.

"Cloud Cuckoolia," Emmet answered as he went over a list of instructions. "We're going to the Dog."

"The… Dog," Bad Cop repeated. "What exactly…?"

"That's the collection site," Emmet shrugged, turning towards him. "Don't ask me, Princess Unikitty is the one who set up the site. Something about recycling helping to keep the galaxy clean and happy." He turned back to the controls and then faced Bad Cop again. "Oh, uh… Just to warn you, Cloud Cuckoolia tends to be a little… Weird… For first timers."

"I can handle it," Good Cop answered. "Don't worry, buddy."

Emmet sighed and faced front again. "Okay, if you say so… You'll want to put your helmet on as we go through the atmosphere, just in case. You can take it off after we land." He put his own helmet on and then pressed a bunch of buttons on the controls as he flew through the atmosphere, constantly checking the instructions as he went. He then grabbed turned towards a speaker. "This is the Scarp contacting the Dog. Requesting permission to land…?"

"The Scarp?" an elderly voice asked on the other end. "What kind of name for a ship is that? Are you some kind of space fish?"

"What?" Emmet flipped through the instructions. "No, this is a garbage freighter, what are you…?"

"Well go ahead and land, space fish, since we really need what gross trash you've picked up."

"Uh…" Emmet glanced at Bad Cop and then faced front again. "Okay then…" He hit a few other buttons and waited for the small bounce of the ship making contact with the ground. He unstrapped from his chair and stood, staring out at the cloudy landscape before turning towards Bad Cop again. "Well, we better get out there."

"Right-o," Good Cop chimed, unbuckling and standing as well. He let Emmet lead the way and out onto solid land. He glanced down and blinked in confusion at the solid clouds beneath his feet.

Emmet pulled his helmet off and then tapped Good Cop on the shoulder and he looked up to see people, both human and alien, flying by on jetpacks, clouds, stars, and other crazy things, and many of them dancing around to the lights and music played by the DJ in the corner.

Bad Cop frowned at the pandemonium, furrowing his brow. "Do they take anything seriously here?"

"Not that I've seen," Emmet answered. He looked up and waved at and old man with glowing eyes and some weirdo in a bat costume as they approached.

"About time one of you garbage freighters showed up," the elderly man scolded, shaking his staff accusingly at Emmet and Bad Cop. "We've been running low on spare parts."

Emmet frowned and shook his head. "That's not right. There should have been some freighters to show up over the last week."

"Well, there hasn't," the man-bat retorted. "Most of the other garbage scows have been attacked by Captain Blu. If I weren't needed here, I'd show that space pirate a taste of my bat plasma missiles."

"Which he'd take out with a simple neutrino wave," Bad Cop answered, scowling. "I already tried that."

The man-bat narrowed his eyes at him. "And who are you? The Scarp's supposed to only have one crewman."

Emmet stepped between the two, chuckling nervously. "Okay, Batman, Vitruvius, this is Bad Cop. Bad Cop, Batman and Vitruvius. I, uh, found Bad Cop floating in space after his ship was destroyed by Captain Blu."

"And I need another," Bad Cop finished. "I have a duty to fulfill."

"And what duty be that!"

The music scratched to a stop and everyone stopped to stare at something on the Scarp. Bad Cop glared up at the loading bay where people were unloading the collected trash and a large cyborg stood above them. The cyborg jumped down next to them, causing some people, Emmet included, to fall over while Batman just dropped his face into his palm.

"Not this guy," he mumbled.

The cyborg leaned close to Bad Cop, but Bad Cop held his ground and straightened his back proudly. "Do ye really think ye can stop ol' Captain Blu?" the cyborg demanded accusingly. "When his own teacher be one of his victims?"

"Who the heck are you?" Bad Cop ground out, unimpressed with the bravado.

"The name be Metalbeard," the cyborg introduced, standing tall and towering over them all. "Captain Metalbeard. I knew Benjy when he be just a lad, before he chose to become a murderous pirate."

"Really…" Bad Cop stared up at Metalbeard, skeptical of him. "You said something about his teacher?"

"Aye!" Metalbeard answered. "I taught Benjy everything he knows about flying spaceships! A real ace, but soon he grew to like spaceships _too_ much. He began to steal others' ships, including me own, me darling Space Cow."

"Space Cow?" Emmet asked, flattening his brow.

"Oh, but I put up a fight!" Metalbeard continued. "And it left me disfigured and broken, and I only survived by adding robotic parts to what was left of me own body!"

Bad Cop hummed and narrowed his eyes at Metalbeard. "Do you know WHY he became a pirate in the first place?"

"He got those cracks in his helmet," Metalbeard answered. "The oxygen loss left him crazy. A man like that can't be reasoned with, and you'd be sure as dead to go up against him again!"

Bad Cop scowled and took a step towards Metalbeard. "That sounds like the kind of thing I'd expect someone working with Captain Blu to say, to get people to stop going after him!"

The others gasped at his gall to make the accusation and Metalbeard scowled at him, getting in his face again. "Do ye know what ye are doing?" Metalbeard growled at him. "Accusing the captain of the Princess Unikitty's own ship of such a treason?"

Scowling and refusing to back down, Bad Cop took off his helmet and held it under his arm to glare better at Metalbeard. "Then let me have a ship and go after Benny, possible death be darned!" Good Cop smiled apologetically and shrugged. "If you don't mind."

Metalbeard pulled back in surprise, and the people watching began to murmur to themselves, a few of them uttering the phrase "Cloud Cuckoolian" to which Bad Cop turned and scowled at them until they shut up. Bad Cop focused on Metalbeard and pointed accusingly.

"I don't care what royalty you work for," Bad Cop declared. "I have a space suit, a wrist laser, and a broken jetpack. I'm systems away from my home planet, and Captain Blu left my parents MIA. Either you get me a ship, or I'm finding someone who will, since I'm going after Benny no matter what you or anyone else says." Good Cop dropped his hand to his side and grinned. "But thank you for giving your opinion." Bad Cop frowned. "However stupid it is."

A long silence overtook the area, with everyone either watching Bad Cop or Metalbeard or both. Eventually, Metalbeard broke the silence with the whirr of his gears as he crossed his arms.

"Very well," he decided. "We'll give ye a ship."

Bad Cop smiled, relaxing his pose but keeping his back straight. "Thank you," he said on a small bounce.

"On one condition!" Metalbeard continued. "Ye have to-."

"No," Bad Cop insisted.

Metalbeard frowned. "But I didn't even-."

"No," he said again. "I'm getting a ship, even if I have to convince Emmet to let me use this piece of junk behind me."

"Hey…" Emmet dropped his shoulders and sighed. "Yeah, okay, it is a piece of junk…"

Bad Cop rolled his eyes and continued. "I'm not going to let you give me ridiculous conditions in exchange for a ship. Is that clear?"

Metalbeard narrowed his eyes and stared at Bad Cop for minute before nodding. "Aye. We'll give ye yer ship, no strings attached. And because I like yer gall, we'll even fix your jetpack for ye. But ye can't expect to fight against Benjy with just a wrist laser."

"Oh?" Good Cop asked. "What do you recommend, in that case?"

"Ye need yer own Stardust Blade," Metalbeard proclaimed. "To go against Captain Blu's. We'll get ye one of those too, and then send ye off. But when ye come back in need of a cyborg body like ol' Captain Metalbeard, don't say I didn't warn ye. This way."

Metalbeard walked through the crowd, which parted to give them way. Along the way, he turned to the DJ and made a hand motion, and the DJ nodded and started up the music again. Bad Cop frowned, but followed after Metalbeard, looking up as they entered the building.

_"So that's why it's called the Dog,"_ Good Cop thought.

Bad Cop pursed his lips. _"Regardless of if we go after Benny,"_ he thought in return, _"I so look forward to getting off this ridiculous planet."_


	6. Chapter Five

Bad Cop sat in a chair in his undersuit, scowling and unsure just why the weird cyborg guy had him take it off. He kept his hand on the back of the chair, ready to use it in case they turned on him and he hand to defend himself.

_"Something's not right about this,"_ Bad Cop thought to his other self.

_"I think you should relax,"_ Good Cop thought in return. _"They seem like nice people. I'm sure it'll be alright."_

_"Not that,"_ Bad Cop responded. _"The cyborg said that Benny's a space pirate because of oxygen loss. But Emmet pointed out that Benny shouldn't be able to go in space unless he doesn't need oxygen. Something's wrong here, and we need to find out what."_

"Boy, how I wonder what craziness is going on in your mind right now."

Good Cop looked up and waved at the elderly man that somehow ended up in front of him. "Hello! Vitruvius, was it? I'm Good Cop."

"So you're somehow not an actual Cloud Cuckoolian?" Vitruvius asked. "You must have some kind of weird heritage in that case to have two sides like that."

Bad Cop frowned and straightened his back. "I'm not here to talk about my heritage. And _no,_ I'm wholly human." Good Cop frowned, furrowing his brow in concern. "What makes everyone think I'm a Cloud Cuckoolian?"

"There aren't many actual Cloud Cuckoolians left," Vitruvius nodded. "But of the ones that are, the princess included, they all have a happy side and an angry side, and change faces when they do. If you can do that too and aren't even some other alien but human…"

Bad Cop shook his head. "Are Cloud Cuckoolians second sides their own person or just the opposite extreme of their personality?"

"The what of what?" Vitruvius asked, lifting his brow. "Look, you're going to have to be clearer if you want an answer to whatever the heck that question was."

Good Cop shrugged. "I'm not the same person as Bad Cop. Is the Cloud Cuckoolians' happy side a different person from their angry side too?"

"Uh… I don't know." Vitruvius shrugged and took a seat next to Good Cop. "But that's why I can only wonder how crazy it is in your mind and how the heck you're human if you can do that."

Good Cop stared at Vitruvius. "Well… Does it matter?"

"Nope. Just everyone's going to be disappointed when they find out you aren't secretly a Cloud Cuckoolian."

"Well too bad for them," Bad Cop answered. "They shouldn't assume someone is something when they have no proof."

Metalbeard burst into the room just then and dropped Bad Cop's suit into his lap. "There ye be, Bad Cop. Put it on and I'll show ye the changes."

Bad Cop hurried into the suit, noting that the arms felt slightly heavier than before and that the wrist laser was missing. He looked up at Metalbeard, lifting a stoic brow and waited.

Metalbeard lifted Bad Cop's arm up, having him keep it straight, and then motioned for Bad Cop to make a fist. Bad Cop did so and nearly jumped as a Stardust Blade sprang out of the sleeve, extending over his hand.

"Try the other arm," Metalbeard ordered.

Bad Cop did the same and watched as a second blade came out. "Hmm. Okay. But what about long range weapons?"

"I'm getting there!" Metalbeard countered. He turned Bad Cop to face a target. "Hold your arm straight and bring your fist down this time, while aiming yer wrist at yonder bullseye. When yer ready press right about here..." He motioned to the spot on his arm.

Bad Cop frowned but did as he was told and watched as a burst of energy shot out of the sleeve and hit the target, leaving scorch marks on it a few inches from the center. "Does it do the same on the other arm too?"

"Of course it does!" Metalbeard answered. "Ye forgot to tell us which hand ye use!"

Good Cop shrugged and held up the other arm, shooting the target and hitting the center in one go. "Not bad," he complimented, smiling up at Metalbeard. "What about the other things?"

"The ship is still being built," he answered. "And yer jetpack obviously be on yer back already. If ye want, I can help ye practice sword fighting before we send ye off to yer death."

"I'd love for you to," Good Cop replied. Bad Cop made a fist and let the blade come out again. "I'd also 'love' for you to stop saying I'm going to die," he said, using his free hand to make air quotes.

"Well what do ye think will happen?" Metalbeard argued. "Yer lucky he didn't kill ye last time ye saw him!"

"I'm stopping him no matter what," Bad Cop insisted. "Even if I have to bring him down with me."

"We'll see how ye run home, crying for yer…" Metalbeard trailed off at Bad Cop's increased scowl and shook his head. "Never mind. Let me show ye how Stardust Blade fightin' be done."

They trained over the next several hours, with several people taking up seats on the platforms around them in order to watch. At some point into the training, Bad Cop noticed Emmet and that bat guy watching them.

"How long have they been at this?" Emmet asked.

"I dunno," Batman answered. "Five, maybe seven hours."

"That long?" Emmet asked, staring down at them, aghast. "Didn't they ever take a break?"

"You think Captain Blu will let him take a break if he actually fights against him?" Batman retorted.

Bad Cop scowled, taking a quick glimpse at Metalbeard, noting that the cyborg didn't seem fatigued in the least. Meanwhile, he did his best not to show how tired he was, standing strong and waiting for what Metalbeard would do next.

"One thing about pirates be they fight dirty…" Metalbeard started. "Ye have to be prepared for any…" The cyborg turned slashing his sword at Bad Cop who barely stepped back in time, "surprise attack!" he finished.

Bad Cop growled and fought back against Metalbeard, the training session turning into a spar and the spectators cheering in excitement.

_"Sadists,"_ he thought, narrowly avoiding another swipe.

_"He's a cyborg,"_ his other self observed. _"He's not going to get tired like we are."_

_"He did this to wear us down so he could kill us himself,"_ Bad Cop decided. _"He probably_ is _working for Captain Blu."_ He pushed away Metalbeard's sword with his own, soon after widening his eyes as a fist barreled towards his face, knocking him to the ground. He flipped onto his hands and knees bringing his hand to his face.

"Like I said," Metalbeard boasted, reaching down to help Bad Cop up. "Pirates fight dirty. If ye can't handle that, then ye can't win against Captain Blu."

"Well…" He stood up on his own, holding his hand over his face and keeping his head bowed. "That…" He looked up, Good Cop's smile greeting him, though his eyes didn't seem to match the good nature. " _Wasn't_ nice…"

In a quick motion, Good Cop fired an energy blast directly into Metalbeard before he had a chance to pull away, the resulting blast from the energy igniting the residue Stardust on the cyborg's chest sending them both flying away from each other, though Good Cop caught himself by activating his jetpack. Metalbeard landed on the stands just after the spectators successfully scrambled away, and just lay there, staring as Good Cop landed again and began to search around the training area.

"Oh, here they are," Good Cop chimed, picking up a pair of sunglasses. "I told you they weren't broken."

"Shut up," Bad Cop mumbled, putting them back on his face. He turned around to see Metalbeard in front of him holding a sword in his face.

"The fight not be over," the cyborg asserted.

"Can we just say you won and be over with it?" Bad Cop groaned. "I don't have time for any more of this." He scanned the crowd and let out a sharp breath through his teeth. "Everyone here is crazy. I want off this stupid planet as soon as possible." Good Cop shrugged. "Thank you for the help, though."

Metalbeard sighed and put away his sword. "Ye be one strange policeman. Maybe ye will stand more of a chance after all. Stay the night to get some rest, and ye can leave tomorrow morning."

Bad Cop growled and kicked down one of the targets. "It's _always_ tomorrow. Is that ship ready?"

"Err…" Metalbeard looked to the side at someone who nodded at him. "Aye, but…"

"Then I'm leaving _now_ ," Bad Cop snarled. Without another word, he turned and stormed out of the Dog, pausing only long enough to grab his helmet on the way out.


	7. Chapter Six

Bad Cop sat in his new ship in open space, angrily munching on some of the food they gave him as supplies. He glared from behind his sunglasses at the stars out in the distance before scowling at the dried fruit in his hand. After a moment, his frown broke into a smile and he chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Good Cop asked.

"You got upset," Bad Cop replied, chuckling again.

Good Cop turned his nose up indignantly, trying to keep from smiling. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Bad Cop shook his head, letting out his breath before he grinned. "He hit me hard enough to knock off my glasses, and you got mad at him and shot him. Good job."

"Well…" Good Cop laughed and leaned back in his seat. "I would think you'd do the same if someone did that to me."

Sighing, Bad Cop closed the bag of space food and put it away. "They were too dramatic on that planet. I don't know how they get anything done. But now we're the same as before, without any idea where to find Captain Blu."

Good Cop leaned back again, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. "It's been a long day. Maybe we could just…"

"Not in empty space," Bad Cop demanded, shooting forward again. "If we're sleeping in space instead of planetside, we're at least finding something solid and safe to land on." He grunted and rubbed his eyes. "And we're doing it _soon_ before we both collapse at the controls."

He piloted the ship away, searching for a place to land, and eventually settled for a moon of some random, uninhabited planet. He lowered onto the moon's surface, double checking everything before he could let himself rest. Once he had everything situated, he reclined in the pilot's seat and let his eyes fall shut, immediately falling into a deep sleep.

Bad Cop snapped awake hours later at the sound of alarms, and he immediately scrambled to check the control panel for the issue. The energy readings reported plasma fire none too far from him and coming his way. He shut off the alarm and started the ship, getting it off the ground in time to see a ship shooting haphazardly at the moon.

_"Good Cop,"_ he thought.

Good Cop looked up, dazed, but gasped at the other ship as it neared. "That's a Black Hole Gang ship."

"And _we_ can't let it get away," Bad Cop determined. "We are police after all." He maneuvered the ship out of the way of the other as it passed by and then took off after it. "This is Bad Cop of Octan Planet," he growled over the communications system. "Cease your fire and prepare to be arrested.

"No way!" the alien shouted back, in disbelief, "Aren't you that police officer who's after Captain Blu?"

Bad Cop frowned. "And where would you hear a thing like that, criminal scum?"

"Ah, no, I'm not falling for this," the alien answered. "You're not arresting me, jerk police."

The alien shot off, and Bad Cop pursued him, matching each movement the alien made and slowly gaining. He followed the alien around the surface of another moon, gasping and swerving to the side as a second Black Hole Gang ship came out of nowhere and tried to ram him.

"What have we here?" the pilot of the new ship said over communications. "That hotshot planetside cop who's never gone against space crooks before?"

Good Cop frowned, as more Black Hole Gang ships pulled around him, circling his ship and keeping him from escaping. "This isn't good…" he muttered.

Scowling, Bad Cop surveyed the ships he could see through the front shield and then through the back camera sensors, trying to keep an eye on all of the ships. "This is _not_ good at all," he agreed.

"What do you think?" the second ship asked. "All of us fire at once to get rid of the nuisance?"

"Isn't that overkill?" another ship asked.

"The best kind!" a fourth claimed.

_"They're using plasma missiles,"_ Good Cop observed, sitting up straighter.

"On the count of three," the first ship decided.

Bad Cop smacked his hand against a switch for a neutrino wave, then squeezing his eyes tight.

"Three!"

A moment later, nothing happened, and Good Cop opened his eyes. "Oh, did your weapons not work?" he asked. "I'm sorry."

"What did you do?!" the first ship asked.

Bad Cop smirked. "Doesn't matter. Now I'm placing you all under…" He trailed off at the sight of blue lights flashing just behind the ship in front of him.

"Hey, dudes…" Captain Blu announced. "If anyone's killing Copper here, it's me. And, y'know, I'm not against killing anyone else who gets in the way."

"Nope!" the second ship shouted, zipping away.

"I'm out!" the third added as they left.

"See you at the Void!" the fourth declared, leaving only the first ship behind.

"Hey man, guts for sticking around," Captain Blu laughed. "Black Hole Gang means you're tough, huh? Well, _beat it_."

"Right, sure thing, see ya!" The first ship sped away.

"Copper…" Benny growled. "Dude, why are you still here?! Argh, I want to blow up your ship so badly!"

"Um…" Good Cop frowned. "Not that I want you to, but why aren't you…?"

"Shut up!" Benny shouted. "You suck! If I didn't have this stupid… I'll let you off this time, but if I see your ship again, you're dead!"

The lights faded from the Umbra, and Bad Cop watched the dark spot as it disappeared.

"That…" Bad Cop frowned. "Was really weird…"

Good Cop nodded his agreement and sighed. "I think you're right about something being wrong about this whole thing…"

"Well we're not going to figure it out here," Bad Cop answered, steering his ship in the direction the Black Hole Gang went. "What was that place they said they were going to?"

"The Void," Good Cop answered. "Are we… Are we going there…?"

"Only thing we can do now," Bad Cop decided. "Let's go find it."


	8. Chapter Seven

_"There's a lot of activity in this sector,"_ Good Cop pointed out, looking over the scanner readings. _"It must be in this area."_

_"Great,"_ Bad Cop replied. _"Let me try to tap into possible communications and find some more information about it."_

Bad Cop messed with the settings on the communications panel until he picked up a private frequency.

"Tired of a day of shooting down the masses for terror or parts? Need a place to unwind and spend your stolen cash? Visit the Void, the only tavern for space crooks and pirates alike. Conveniently located in the old West Belt Bar."

He stared at panel for a good few minutes before letting out a flat "what."

"I guess even private villainous locales need advertisement…?" Good Cop offered.

"Is everyone in the galaxy completely weird?" Bad Cop retorted, steering the ship towards the West Belt.

Sometime later, he landed on one of the asteroids in the West Belt, out of sight of any crooks who might pilfer his ship. He slipped on helmet and exited the ship onto the asteroid, looking up and frowning at the sight of a ship following his idea on an asteroid some distance away.

_"Wasn't that one of the ones at the Dog?"_ he asked Good Cop.

_"Probably just coincidence,"_ Good Cop answered. _"Do you see where to go in yet?"_

Bad Cop looked around and then spotted the worn sign for the West Belt Bar, a saloon long run over by criminals that had been built on the inside of a station disguised as an asteroid. He watched as some ships entered through a hidden entrance and he watched as the person on the other asteroid jetted in through that same entrance. Bad Cop activated his jetpack and followed suit, keeping an eye out for any opposition.

He reached the airlock with no problem, but before he could make it to the other side, a pair of alien guards stopped him.

"Crook or pirate?" they demanded, readying their laser guns.

He hesitated, but then quickly pulled out his Stardust Blades, holding them at either of the alien's throats.

"Pirate," one decided, backing away.

"Go on through, sir," the other choked out in fear. "Or… Or ma'am…"

Bad Cop smirked and stepped into the Void, staying in the shadows, but soon scowled at all of the ruckus going around with various aliens, humans, and even some robots fighting each other or boasting about their exploits. As soon as he stepped out of the shadows, they all stopped to look at him and his Stardust Blades.

_"Stay quiet and let me handle this,"_ Bad Cop ordered.

_"Right-o!"_ Good Cop agreed.

Bad Cop stepped into the bar, keeping his helmet on despite the suitable atmosphere, and then spoke through the computerized vocals of his suit. "I need information on Captain Benjamin Blu."

A few of the weaker criminals shied away and withdrew themselves from the confrontation, but an alien from one table stood up to face him.

"What do you want to know about Captain Blu for?" the alien asked.

_"That's one of the Black Hole Gang members we just ran into,"_ Good Cop reminded.

_"I know, shut up,"_ Bad Cop answered. He strode forward, keeping tall and ominous. "I don't have to answer to you," he snarled, the digital tone adding to the hint of danger. He let one of the blades retract and grabbed the alien by the collar and held the other blade at their neck. "Someone here better give me some info, or it won't be pretty."

"Hey, c-calm down," the alien stuttered, wimping out of his grasp. "Anyone here know anything about Blu?"

"I saw him take an entire explosion during one of his raids," someone offered. "Scratched the paint off his suit some but didn't harm him otherwise."

"Real practical guy, for a pirate," another person said. "Steals food and water supplies, oxygen, fuel, and parts to repair whatever breaks on his ship. That way he never has to land."

"He's really into spaceships," a third person added. "And word is he's going after a certain princess's ship to add it to his collection."

"And to stop the Princess Unikitty from delivering parts to Octan Planet for that Business's guy's robot plan," someone else continued. "Not that the robots could really stop Blu, of course, but it'll also make it easier for Blu to kill that cop that's following him without the robotic help."

"He's going after Princess Unikitty?" Good Cop repeated, dropping the alien he was holding.

The last person to talk stood up and stared at him. "Did your voice just change…?"

The alien gang member scrambled to their feet. "You! You're that cop that's after Blu aren't you?! And you knocked out the plasma missiles on our ships!"

"A COP?" the others shouted, jumping to their feet.

Bad Cop groaned. _"To be fair, I was about to give ourselves away by saying something to the thing about us."_

_"Sorry,"_ Good Cop apologized.

Bad Cop ducked out of the way of the pair of crooks that tried to tackle him and he stepped back and flipped over, grabbing one of the metal chairs and using it to defend himself.

_"No swords or energy guns, huh?"_ Good Cop asked.

"Don't distract me," Bad Cop muttered. "And I'm not trying to _kill_ them."

As Bad Cop fought, he noticed a second person, their face covered in a hood, jump around and fend off some of the criminals as well until they made it next to their side.

"Come with me," they whispered. "I'll take you back to Cloud Cuckoolia."

"Are you that _DJ_?" Bad Cop demanded, pulling a face.

"Part time, yes," they answered. "Now come on."

Bad Cop let out an annoyed sigh but followed the person as the two of them fought their way through the crooks. Once they made it out of the airlock, they jetted back onto the Cloud Cuckoolian ship, taking off just before some of the aliens followed after them. The person fired at Bad Cop's ship as they passed, causing it and the asteroid it was on to explode, giving them enough of a distraction to get away.

"Sorry about the ship, but we couldn't let those criminals get their hands on it," the person told him. They set their ship on autopilot and then lowered their hood and pulled off their helmet, lowering their thermal hood and fixing their hair as it fell. She turned towards him and held out her hand. "I'm Wyldstyle. Pleased to be working with you, sir."

Bad Cop ignored her hand and pulled off his own helmet. "Wyldstyle? Don't you have a real name?"

She frowned at him. "Don't you, Mr. 'Good Cop Bad Cop'?"

"Danny Copper," Good Cop answered. "Nice to meet you, Miss." Bad Cop turned his head and scowled. "Traitor…"

"All the same," Wyldstyle continued. "Metalbeard told me to follow your ship and keep an eye on you. Thankfully, that let me find out about Captain Blu's plan to attack Princess Unikitty's ship. I assume you'll be willing to help defend it since it means you'll get another chance to capture Captain Blu?"

Bad Cop let out a sharp breath. "I guess I have no choice here. Though, for the record, I do _not_ look forward to working with Captain Metalbeard. At all."

"Not to worry, sir," Wyldstyle assured him. "Metalbeard's not looking forward to working with you either after how you shot down his attempts to be dramatic. Everyone else thought it was hilarious, though."

"Glad they found it funny," Good Cop chuckled. He leaned back again and yawned. "Do you mind if I…?"

"We will be back at Cloud Cuckoolia in a few hours," she told him. "Feel free to sleep on the way there."

"Thank you," he mumbled, yawning again.

After a moment, Wyldstyle spoke up again. "One last thing, sir?"

"Yes…?" he asked, cracking open an eye.

"If you're not a Cloud Cuckoolian… How are you human?"

Bad Cop frowned and closed his eyes. "Space magic," he answered. "Now, good night."

Wyldstyle sighed. "Sleep well, sir."


	9. Chapter Eight

Good Cop shook his head and blinked, sliding his glasses up to try and comprehend the face looking at him and shaking him by the shoulder.

"Get your helmet on," the person said. "We're going to go through the atmosphere soon."

He stared dumbly before nodding and swiping around for his helmet on a yawn, finally connecting with it and slipping it on. The loud snaps of it connecting brought him clearer focus, and he sat straighter, watching Wyldstyle maneuver her ship to Cloud Cuckoolia's surface.

_"Bad Cop,"_ he thought gently. _"Bad Cop, wake up."_

_"Ugh, are we already back in crazyville?"_ Bad Cop mentally groaned. _"You want to take care of it, buddy?"_

_"Sure. Come out whenever you feel like it,"_ Good Cop answered.

_"I'm going to stay in as long as I can."_

Good Cop nodded and stood to follow Wyldstyle out. He pulled off his helmet as she did and looked up to marvel at the large, rainbow-colored spaceship.

"That's adorable!" he laughed.

"That's Princess Unikitty for you," Wyldstyle sighed. "C'mon, we'll be able to catch up with Metalbeard as he boards with the princess."

Good Cop nodded and followed her again, humming as he stared up at the spaceship. "So, if this is just a trip to deliver supplies to Octan Planet, then why is someone who is royalty coming along? Especially if you already know that a space pirate will be targeting this ship?"

"We can't just back down just because some stupid space pirate is devastating the galaxy," Wyldstyle shrugged.

"Sometimes it's best to know when to retreat," Good Cop countered. "Does Metalbeard even know Benny- Err… Captain Blu will be coming after us?"

"Yeah, don't worry, I called ahead of time." Wyldstyle stood at the entrance to the ship, and straightened her back as Metalbeard and a pink half-cat, half-unicorn walked up to them. "Princess Unikitty and Captain Metalbeard. I have brought the policeman as planned."

"Yay," the unicorn-cat cheered. "It's always great to have an extra set of hands. I should know, since I have paws and hooves…"

"Aye," Metalbeard agreed, nodding. "Even if it is some planetlubber with no idea what he's up against."

"Frankly, sir," Good Cop chimed, smiling kindly. "I don't think you know what _you're_ up against."

"Ooh," Unikitty laughed. "C'mon, boys, don't fight. We have some supplies to deliver, and we can't let any old space pirate stop us. Is the rest of the crew on board, Metalbeard?"

"Aye, Princess," Metalbeard nodded. "Everything be shipshape and ready for lift off."

"Then let's get going!"

Everyone boarded the ship, and it soon took off for Octan planet. Good Cop hummed a bit, glancing around at the colorful interior and controls and the general lack of organization everyone had in running the ship. The motley crew seemed to include mostly of people he saw at the Dog, including Batman, Vitruvius, and, strangely, Emmet. He felt something nudge under his hand and looked down to see the princess grinning at him.

"Hello," he smiled at her.

"Wyldstyle told me you have two faces," Unikitty said right away. "But you're a human and not a Cloud Cuckoolian?"

He nodded. "Right. And Mr. Vitruvius told me Cloud Cuckoolians change when they're happy or angry?"

She nodded, giggling. "Yep! But I like my happy side better. Stay positive! That's the Cloud Cuckoolian motto! So your bad side can come out whenever he wants?"

"Yes," Good Cop nodded. "We talk to each other too. He's embarrassed to come out right now."

_"Am not!"_ Bad Cop insisted

_"I know that, but we don't want to insult the princess by saying everything here is crazy."_ Good Cop answered.

"Wyldstyle also said you changed faces while you were sleeping," Unikitty added. She gave him a concerned look and patted his hand. "No, no, don't frown. No frowny faces. But do you and Mr. Bad have separate dreams or do you share dreams?"

Good Cop shook his head. "I don't usually remember any dreams we have. I don't remember what kind we have."

Unikitty nodded and smiled. "Alright. Oh, you're also from Octan Planet, aren't you? A lot of us haven't been there before. Maybe you can show us around after we get there!"

"If we don't get stopped by Captain Blu first," Good Cop agreed. "What's the plan for dealing with him if he arrives?"

She laughed and shook her head. "On Cloud Cuckoolia, we never have boring plans! We'll just wing it!"

"...What?" Good Cop asked, blinking dumbly through his grin. Bad Cop scowled suddenly, and Unikitty looked up at him in confusion. "You don't have a plan," Bad Cop said. "That's a perfect way to get killed when Captain Blu actually shows up. Which he will, knowing him."

"You… You don't need to be so pessimistic," Unikitty suggested, smiling sheepishly. "Come on, have some rays of optimism!"

"I'll be 'optimistic' knowing everyone has an idea what to do when he attacks," Bad Cop countered, ignoring the glare Metalbeard was sending him as the cyborg approached. "I'll have some 'optimism' if there's a plan to keep everyone safe!"

"Then what do ye suggest?" Metalbeard growled at him. "Ye haven't done well against Captain Blu on ye own!"

Bad Cop narrowed his eyes, but then smiled. "That's because I didn't know where to find him before, and running into him was unexpected. I know he's going to show up this time, and I know what we should do."

"No harm in at least hearing the idea, Metalbeard," Unikitty shrugged.

Metalbeard sighed and nodded. "Very well. Tell us yer plan, Bad Cop."

Sometime later, a figure walked onto the bridge of the Umbra, grumbling to himself as he went.

"Oh captain, my captain," he mumbled, "Your dreadful ways aren't fun… The ship repainted as pitch black, my life now come undone."

"Oh would you stop your whining, dude?" Captain Blu asked, turning around from the pilot's seat to face the human. "I've been taking care of you, haven't I?"

The man rolled his eyes. "Why did you call me up here, _Captain_?" he stressed with a sneer.

"Going after a ship I thought you'd like," Captain Blu laughed. "The Aristo Phanes."

"Aristo Phanes?" the man repeated. After a moment he gasped and shook his head. "That's the Princess Unikitty's ship! You can't do that!"

"Is that a challenge?" Captain Blu asked. "I bet I can. And I will."

"You better not hurt anyone on that ship," the man groaned. "I swear, if I find out you hurt anyone…"

"Tell you what," Captain Blu sighed, shaking his head. "If it'll stop you from whining so much… I want to capture the ship, so I can't blow it up this time… But if they let me on without a fight, I won't harm anyone there."

"But they're not going to just invite you on their ship," the man pointed out. "You're a space pirate. Why would they just let you on?"

"Then they're going to die," Captain Blu laughed, turning around again. "At least I'm giving them a chance. Go back to your room now. I'll give you the Aristo Phanes later."

"I don't _want_ the Aristo Phanes," the man argued. "I want you to stop all of this!"

Captain Blu turned around again, standing up slowly. "Go. To. Your. Room." He pointed off the bridge and waited for the man to leave before sitting down again. He turned to the controls and steered the ship, growling as he tracked down his target. "Lousy, ungrateful…" he muttered. "If only I could kill him…"

Soon he had the Aristo Phanes in sight and he laughed again, maneuvering up to it and turning on his tractor beam. He flipped on communications, staring at the prize of a ship as he spoke to it. "This is Captain Benjamin Blu of the spaceship Umbra…"

"Oh, good, we were getting worried you wouldn't show up!" Princess Unikitty's peppy voice answered.

He paused and then uttered a confused "What…?"

"Go ahead and come on board," she invited. "We've been waiting for you!"

"What?" he repeated. "Uh… Okay…?"

"See you soon! Bye!"

He hesitated, but soon stood and hurried out towards the Aristo Phanes. He readied his Stardust Blade in anticipation for a trap before letting himself onto the ship, only to see no one there. Looking around in suspicion, he slowly made his way through the hallways in search of people. He heard whispering and giggling behind a door and he immediately burst in, only to see no one in the dark room.

Hesitantly, he walked in further, spinning around as the exit slid close and the lights came to life.

"Surprise!" everyone shouted from behind table barricade, all of them pointing guns at him.

"We have you surrounded, Benny," an annoyingly familiar voice announced. He turned to see Bad Cop standing behind the middle table. "Give up now or we'll shoot."

"Copper!" Benny snarled through the digital suit vocals. "How the HELL do you keep finding me?!"

A few people gasped at the language, and Bad Cop raised his arm at him.

"Benny, we can do this the easy way or…"

Benny cried out and charged at him.

"He chose the hard way, fire!" Bad Cop called before shooting Benny himself, the blast hardly stopping him

All of the other shots seem to bounce off of Benny. Bad Cop backed away as the pirate brought down his blade, slicing the table in half.

"Copper!" Benny shouted again. "You're coming with me!"

"Hold it Benjy!" Metalbeard called, dropping between Benny and Bad Cop, and holding out his sword against the pirate. "Ye better not take another step."

"My fight's not against _you,_ " Benny growled. "It's Copper I'm after."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Bad Cop asked, peeking out from behind Metalbeard. He ducked back as Benny tried to swing his sword at him, though Metalbeard caught the blade with his own and fought Benny back.

"Get out of my way!" Benny yelled. "I just want Copper! Give me Copper and I'll leave this ship alone!"

Good Cop frowned, furrowing his brow. "Promise…?"

"Good Cop," Wyldstyle frowned at him. "You can't possibly…"

"Maybe if I go with him, I can stop him on the Umbra," Good Cop whispered. "And if not, Princess Unikitty can get the supplies to President Business to make the robot army as planned."

Meanwhile, Benny knocked Metalbeard's sword from his hand catching it and holding it against Metalbeard who backed away slowly. "Copper," he demanded, turning his head towards the policeman. "This was _your_ plan, wasn't it? Get your helmet on and come with me, or I'm breaking a _lot_ of promises and killing everyone here…" He put one of the Stardust Blades away and moved his hand towards the box on his belt.

"Alright," Bad Cop agreed, grabbing his helmet and putting it on. "But you better leave this ship and everyone else on it alone."

Benny grabbed Bad Cop by the arm and took him away, keeping his sword out just in case.

As they retreated, Wyldstyle and Unikitty came up beside Metalbeard, each of them frowning.

"Captain Blu doesn't take prisoners," Unikitty pointed out.

"That guy's a goner," Wyldstyle agreed.

"No…" Metalbeard disagreed. "Something be fishy here…"

"I bet it's that guy from the Scarp," Vitruvius answered.

"It's not a space fish!" Emmet argued.

Batman shook his head. "So are we just going to let them go and get back on course, or are we going after them?"

"Let's get back on course," Metalbeard decided. "We can't do too much for the planetlubber if we can't even track down the Umbra."

Unikitty nodded and jumped around. "We need to get these supplies to President Business right away! So he can finish his robots and send them after that meanie!"

"Back to your stations, everyone!" Wyldstyle ordered. "Get this ship in gear and go to Octan Planet immediately!"


	10. Chapter Nine

As soon as they got onto the Umbra, Benny hit a control panel and then continued to march Bad Cop through the ship.

"Auto-pilot activated," the ship's computer announced as they walked.

"In there," Benny ordered, pointing to a room with his sword.

Bad Cop frowned from under his helmet, noting that Benny hadn't taken his off yet either, but then walked into the room, looking around in surprise at the decently sized quarters.

"Dude, come on, what did you do this time?"

Good Cop looked up as another man walked into the open towards them, frowning at Benny.

Benny growled and pushed Good Cop forward. "I didn't get the Aristo Phanes, but I got you Copper instead."

"Copper?" the other man asked. "Danny Copper? No way… Dude, take off your helmet, I have to see this…"

Good Cop hesitated, but then removed his helmet, frowning at the other man. The man smiled sheepishly and then glared at Benny.

"But really man, you can't keep doing this," he told the pirate. "You have to let us go eventually."

"Shut up," Benny growled. "Have fun, you two." He left, letting the door slide shut behind him.

"What a jerk," the man muttered. "I'm really sorry about this."

"And, uh…" Bad Cop frowned at the man. "Who are you…?"

"Oh, uh…" The man grinned at him. "Captain Benjamin Blu, at your service."

"What?" Bad Cop scowled, making a fist and drawing out one of his Stardust Blades. "What do you mean _you_ are Captain Blu?"

"Woah, hey, calm down!" he insisted, holding up his hand in defense. "I can explain, I promise! Just don't hurt me! No one would like that…"

Bad Cop slowly relaxed, sheathing his blade again. Good Cop shrugged and frowned at the man. "Okay… Please explain…"

"Here, sit down," the man said, motioning to the table. After they seated, he took a breath and began. "I used to be the captain of the Umbra, and I worked for Princess Unikitty of Cloud Cuckoolia, doing research in various parts of the galaxy. But, y'know, it gets lonely out on your own, so I got a companion to join me…"

"What kind of companion?" Bad Cop asked.

He cringed. "A robot companion… The person _claiming_ to be me is a robot."

"I knew he couldn't be human," Bad Cop mumbled.

Benny, the real Benny, nodded and sighed. "On one of the research missions, just a few days before we were to meet with my old teacher Captain Metalbeard, there was an accident… The main body of Robo-B, that's what I called him, is mostly indestructible, but the visor connected to his CPU isn't as much… So something hit him right in the face and cracked the visor, and it made his programming all screwy… That's when he decided to be a pirate, but I didn't find out until Metalbeard showed up and Robo-B locked me in my room and took my identity. I'm lucky Metalbeard survived that, from what I heard."

"But if he's a robot, what does he want with everything he steals?" Good Cop asked.

Benny groaned. "It's for me. Everything. He steals supplies to keep me alive or to keep the Umbra intact so he never has to land and risk me escaping. He steals ships because he knows I like those and thinks it'll keep me entertained… He's pretty much just keeping me as a pet… If that accident hadn't happened, there wouldn't be so many people that died by his hands…"

Good Cop nodded. "So he's a good robot doing bad things."

"No, of course not, dude," Benny answered, shaking his head. "He's a _bad_ robot doing bad things. See, now that he knows what it's like to be a pirate, he doesn't want to quit. I tried reprogramming him a few times before, but each time he either reverted what I did or stopped me before I could try…" He winced and brought his knees to his chest. "It… Wasn't pretty after each attempt, so I stopped trying…"

Bad Cop winced as well and then sighed. "And you can't control him at all?"

"Well…" Benny frowned and shrugged. "I can't do too much, but I sometimes can convince him not to do as much damage, but usually his promises are circumstantial, so if the other people do something wrong, he goes ahead and hurts them… He told me he wouldn't hurt anyone on Princess Unikitty's ship if they let him on without a fight, for instance."

"Good thing that was part of my plan, then," Bad Cop answered, letting out his breath. Good Cop looked up at Benny and frowned. "So… Benny…"

"Yes?" he asked.

"Are you the reason 'Robo-B' didn't try to kill me yet?"

Benny nodded and stood up, grinning. "Was wondering when you'd ask. I'm half the reason. But I asked him not to kill you specifically because… Well, come with me."

Good Cop wrinkled his nose in confusion and followed Benny through the door to another room. As soon as he saw them sitting at the table, his eyes widened and he let out a ragged cry of delight. Bad Cop dashed over, and the two people stood up to hug him, and then hug Good Cop as he switched in, crying.

"Son!" Pa Cop breathed out. "I didn't think we'd see you again."

"Mummy! Daddy!" Good Cop cried. "You're alive!"

"There, there, Danny dear," Ma Cop soothed. "I'm just glad you're alright."

Bad Cop took a deep breath and stood straight again, doing his best to keep his composure. "Mummy. Daddy. What happened…?"

"We were on the Corona when that nasty space pirate attacked," Pa Cop started.

"We managed to get our suits on before the ship exploded completely," Ma Cop continued. "But that was when he showed up and made us go with him onto this ship."

"That's kind of my fault," Benny admitted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I mentioned how annoying it was only to have Robot-B as company, so he decided to kidnap your parents… Later they told me how you might go after him as a police officer yourself, so I convinced Robo-B not to kill you if he saw you, though he had tried to deter you from following at first. I don't know why he kidnapped you now…"

Good Cop sniffled and wiped away his tears, smiling as he hugged his parents again. "That doesn't matter. I'm just glad you two are alive." Bad Cop let go again and shook his head. "I'll be gladder once we get out of here."

"What do you suggest, dude?" Benny asked. "Only way out is if I can get control of the ship again. And the only way to do that is to take down Robo-B, but he's highly unbreakable."

"You said the visor is his weak point," Bad Cop pointed out. "If I aim for that…"

"You can't use those wrist guns you have," Benny replied, pointing to Bad Cop's arms. "There's a dampening field on the inside of the ship, so that none of us would get a weapon and shoot him. Not that it'd do much unless the aim into his face was dead-on."

"What about my Stardust Blades?" Good Cop asked, extending one of them.

"Oh, son," Ma Cop said, holding him by the arm. "You'd have to fight at close range to him… If you miss, he could kill you…"

"It's the only chance we have, Mummy," Bad Cop reminded her. "Or else we'll be prisoners the rest of our lives."

"I do want to go back home sometime, Ma," Pa Cop agreed. "And I'm sure Danny…" He trailed off and then gripped Bad Cop's shoulder firmly. "Just try not to get killed if you do this, son."

Bad Cop sighed. "Yes, Daddy. Of course."

"When was the last time you ate?" Ma Cop asked. "You need to make sure you have energy for this."

Benny nodded. "I'll get us some snacks…" He turned to leave but then stopped and looked at Bad Cop again. "Danny, dude, I'm counting on you. I'll help in any way I can. I just want to get _out_ of here."

Good Cop nodded. "We'll do our best."

He smiled and walked out. Good Cop sat at the table with his parents and sighed, smiling at the two of them.

"And when Benny comes back," Pa Cop whispered. "You should tell us all what you've done the over the past week."

Bad Cop nodded. "Whatever you want, Daddy." He smiled softly as Ma Cop slipped her hand around his, holding it gently. "We missed you," he said. "So much," Good Cop choked, about to cry again.

"It's okay, son," Ma Cop told him. "And I'm sure you'll get us out of this soon enough…"


	11. Chapter Ten

Good Cop slid the last of the tables against the wall and waved over at Benny. "Alright, I have the area clear. Call him down."

Benny nodded and hopped onto a table, kneeling on it as he pressed the button for the intercom. "Hey, _Captain,_ think you could go down to the rec room for a moment?"

"Uh…" Robo-B answered. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Dude, come on," Benny sighed rolling his eyes. "Just do me this favor."

Robo-B let out an aggravated sigh. "Okay, fine, but if you're trying to reprogram me again, I'm putting you in solitary confinement for a full week this time. On top of the usual punishment."

Benny flinched. "Don't worry, man, I'm not trying to this time…"

"I'll be there in a minute."

Flashing Bad Cop a thumbs up, Benny pulled off the intercom panel and readied a pair of wires. "Counting on you, Danny," Benny called over. "I'm locking the door as soon as he comes in. If you don't beat him, we're not getting out unharmed or possibly even alive."

Bad Cop nodded and readied himself. As soon as Robo-B walked through the door, Benny connected the wires, and the door slammed shut behind the robot imposter. Robo-B turned towards the door, growling before stalking towards Benny. Bad Cop stepped in the way, one of his Stardust Blades ready.

"Oh, that's how you want to play, huh?"  Robo-B challenged, pulling out his and Metalbeard's swords. "Come on, Copper. I'm not going easy on you this time."

"And I'm not going to let you get away with this," Bad Cop countered, swinging his blade to start the fight.

"Kick his butt, buddy!" Benny cheered from the table.

Robo-B roared out in anger before lunging at Bad Cop. Bad Cop dodged and then tried to strike Robo-B, but the robot blocked him with his swords. Bad Cop smirked and swiped up the blade on the opposite arm, against one of Robo-B's hand and knocking the sword in it away.

"Dirty trick having a hidden sword!" Robo-B argued.

"Pirates fight dirty," Bad Cop retaliated.

The battle continued around the room, Bad Cop using his two swords and Robo-B blocking with his own as well as his protected body.

_"He's not letting me get to his face,"_ Bad Cop observed.

_"Of course not,"_ Good Cop answered. _"I doubt he… Look out!"_

Bad Cop pulled away just before Robo-B barreled through his attacks, letting Bad Cop's blades slide off of him while he sliced at the policeman. The blade cut straight through his suit, nicking his skin, and Bad Cop winced but otherwise kept his straight face. He knocked Robo-B's sword away from him before he could strike again and lunged his other arm forward, aiming for the robot's visor.

He cried out when Robo-B caught his arm and began to crush it slowly. Good Cop tried to remove the robot's hand in a panic, keeping the other fist clenched. Robo-B grabbed onto Good Cop's other arm and squeezed as well.

"You just _had_ to go against me, didn't you?" Robo-B asked. "You just had to try and fight here… How about I break your arms, Copper? Is that lesson enough that you should have gone back home like I first told you? Is that-?"

Robo-B let go of him as his head suddenly slammed into the Stardust Blade. Bad Cop stared, eyes wide, as sparks began to fly around the robot before he finally collapsed. He retracted his blade, letting Robo-B fall into a useless heap on the floor, and then looked up to see Benny holding one of the fallen sword handles, having just slammed it against Robo-B's head.

"Good job," Good Cop congratulated. Bad Cop rubbed his arms and frowned. "Now let's get out of here and back to Octan Planet."

"Right!" Benny finally dropped his arm, putting the blade handle on his belt and walking with Bad Cop back over to the intercom panel. "Omigosh, I can't believe I'm finally getting out of this. I really have to thank you, if you hadn't…" He laughed and wiped his tears on his sleeve before unlocking the door again. "Danny, you are the best."

Good Cop smiled and patted Benny's shoulder. "It's good that we stopped him, once and for all. Now we can clear your name and not have to worry about…"

"Dude, did you hear a whoosh?" Benny asked turning around. He gasped and dived off the table, into Good Cop just as a Stardust Blade cut through where they were just standing.

Robo-B's broken visor sparked as he grabbed Benny off of Bad Cop, pulling him a step away and holding his sword against him threateningly. "Don't move," he crackled at Bad Cop just as the policemen stood.

"Robo-B…!" Benny laughed nervously, almost like a hiccup. "I-I mean, Captain, uh… You survived that…?"

Robo-B's face sparked as he growled, the sound coming off as a screech. "Do you know why I haven't killed you yet?" he asked.

"No…?" Benny hesitated.

"ME NEITHER!" Before Robo-B could plunge his sword into Benny, Bad Cop tackled into him.

The two struggled against each other on the floor before Bad Cop activated his jetpack to shoot out from under Robo-B.

"Won't give up, huh…?" Robo-B crackled. "Well I won't either. Not as long as my CPU has some parts functional. And now the most recent damage means I don't have to keep my programming to keep _him_ alive!" He faced Benny again, about to stalk forward.

"Stay away from him!" Bad Cop ordered, charging at Robo-B with his blade ready.

Robo-B turned suddenly, punching Bad Cop in the face, sending the broken sunglasses flying. Bad Cop crumpled to the floor, dazed, and Robo-B stood over him, pressing his foot against his chest.

"Still want to try to talk me out of it?" he asked, laughing.

Good Cop frowned. "You are _not_ a nice person."

"Pirates, dude," Robo-B answered. "What can you do?"

"This." Good Cop fired and energy blast directly into Robo-B's CPU.

Robo-B staggered back enough for Good Cop to stand, but he then slashed his blade across Good Cop's chest, cutting through his suit and across his skin. Good Cop cried out and dropped to his hands and knees as Robo-B towered above him, about to finish him off.

"No!" Benny shouted, staring in horror as Robo-B held up his sword.

The robot froze suddenly, and the Stardust Blade retracted into its handle as it fell from Robo-B's hand. Robo-B began to shake before his helmet exploded outward, the energy blast finally lighting up the Stardust residue inside his CPU and destroying it completely.

Benny watched as Robo-B collapsed to the floor again, this time for good, and he rushed over to Good Cop's side.

"Danny, buddy, you okay?" he asked, turning him onto his back to inspect the wound. He gasped at the sight of it. "Danny, no…"

"Make sure Mummy and Daddy make it home safely," Good Cop told him, his eyes falling shut.

Bad Cop grunted and took a hold of Benny's hand. "And get me to a hospital. Quickly."

"Right!" Benny jumped to his feet and rushing to the intercom to call for Ma and Pa Cop.

Bad Cop closed his eyes and let out his breath. _"What do you think we'll pass out from? Exhaustion, blood loss, or death?"_

_"Not death,"_ Good Cop decided.

_"Not death,"_ Bad Cop agreed before slipping away.


	12. Chapter Eleven

The melody of the lullaby floated to him, though he couldn't make out the words in his haze. All the same, he wandered to the source of the singing, listening closer as it became clearer.

"...ra-loo-ral… Too-ra-loo-ra-li… Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral... Hush now, don't you cry…"

Good Cop peeked through the dark and spied what looked like a reflection of himself. Same body, same clothes, but a different face, one partially wrinkled from stress and seriousness and one with the eyes covered by a pair of sunglasses.

"Hey," the reflection greeted calmly.

"Bad Cop?" he asked, reaching out, unsure.

Bad Cop nodded and held out his arms for once, asking for a hug. Good Cop eagerly accepted and continued to hold onto Bad Cop even after he let go.

"Bad, are we…?" He hesitated and then choked out the word. "Dead...?"

He shook his head and sighed. "I hope not, Good. I'd want the afterlife to be… You know, _brighter_ than this."

Good Cop frowned and looked around. "Are we dreaming? Or is this just me…?"

"If you are, then I must be too," Bad Cop decided. "I'm seeing you from my point of view."

"Are our dreams normally so clear?" Good Cop asked, frowning. "I mean, if I wanted I could…" He trailed off and then slowly brought his hands to Bad Cop's face, trying to drag the corners of his mouth up.

Bad Cop pulled away and shoved Good Cop's hands down. "What are you doing?"

"If this is my only chance to see you separately from me, then I want to see you smile," Good Cop declared, grinning.

He groaned and dropped his face into his hand. "Alright, fine, fine…" He looked up again and after a few false starts, he began to smile. "There. Is this good?"

"Perfect," Good Cop laughed, nodding.

"Also, I don't think we dream that often," Bad Cop answered. "At least, not connected like this. But I think the last time we did this it was clear… It's hard to remember dreams."

"Oh, right…" Good Cop frowned as he thought about it. "I remember now… Just the two of us, actually able to see each other… We never did find out why or why there's two of us to start with, did we?"

"Does it matter?" Bad Cop asked.

Good Cop shook his head. "No. Well, maybe to the Cloud Cuckoolians it does, but…"

"Who cares about them?" Bad Cop retorted, sighing. "I just hope we wake up… Both of us."

"Do you think we'll remember this dream?" Good Cop questioned as he looked around again. "There's not much here to remember…"

"I don't even remember why we're asleep right now," Bad Cop answered. "If we are asleep."

Shrugging, Good Cop tucked his arms behind his back and rocked back and forth on his heels. "Either way, could you sing the lullaby again?"

Bad Cop furrowed his brow, looking at Good Cop in confusion. "I wasn't singing. I thought you were."

"Then who…?"

"...ra-loo-ral… Too-ra-loo-ra-li… Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral... That's an Irish lullaby…"

He opened eyes, wincing at the bright light above him and then squinting through the blurriness as he looked around the room. "Mummy…?" he asked, voice raspy.

"Oh Danny," she sighed in relief, petting his hand gently. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"Glasses?" he asked making a vague motion to his face.

She nodded and held out a pair of sunglasses for him before she turned towards Pa Cop. "Pa, go tell the others he's awake."

"Yes, Ma," Pa Cop said as he hurried out of the room.

Bad Cop took the sunglasses and put them on, blinking a few times as he adjusted to the sight. "New frames?" he asked.

"Robo-B broke your old ones, dude," Benny answered from Bad Cop's other side. He grinned as Bad Cop jumped to look at him and flashed a thumbs up. "You and the other guy did a great job. He awake yet?"

_"Good Cop,"_ Bad Cop asked. _"I know you want to go back to dreaming but still…"_

Good Cop mentally sighed. _"I can't remember most of the dream now anyway…"_ Good Cop sat up carefully, doing his best not to aggravate his chest. He smiled and nodded as he accepted his glasses from Ma Cop and put them on. "Where are we…?"

"Octan Hospital," Ma Cop answered. "After you passed out, Pa and I helped keep you secure while Benny took control of the ship again and took us back home."

"Omigosh, it was annoying," Benny continued, flopping forward onto Good Cop's legs in exhaustion. "As soon as we got to the planet and I requested to land, they were ready to fire us down on the spot. I had to tell them there were innocent civilians on board, one of which needed medical attention, and they _still_ didn't listen until your Dad vouched for me."

"Alright, get off," Bad Cop ordered, lifting Benny up by the collar until the other man chose to sit up on his own. "Then after you landed…?"

"Whole lot of police and robots ready to take me away," Benny groaned. "Your folks had to bail me out again, and we showed them Robo-B while you were taken to the hospital. Dude, you didn't tell me you made friends with my friends."

"I didn't make any friends," Bad Cop frowned. "Who are you…?"

"He's talking about us, Bad Cop!" Unikitty answered, bounding into the room and onto Bad Cop's lap to curl up.

Good Cop smiled and petted her, looking up as Pa led the others in as well. Somehow Metalbeard managed to squeeze into the room, taking up space next to Benny while Emmet, Lucy, Batman, and Vitruvius filed in as well, though Vitruvius was looking at the wall opposite of him instead. President Business stepped in last, glancing nervously at Benny before focusing on Good Cop again with a grin.

"I knew you could do it," he congratulated. "I had total, 100 percent confidence in you from the start... But, uh, _wow_ , Captain Blu turned out to be a robot imposter?"

"Dude, even oxygen loss wouldn't make me crazy enough to start murdering people," Benny countered, raising his brow at him. "Also, I'm pretty sure Robo-B was an Octan robot-."

"Well that's all water under the metaphorical bridge," President Business interrupted. "But what am I supposed to do the with robot police army I was making now?"

"There are still plenty of other space crooks out there," Wyldstyle suggested. "You could send them after those guys."

"Ughh, fine, I'll go reprogram them to go after space crooks." President Business sighed and then looked at Bad Cop. "You. Get better soon. I need you back on security as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir," Bad Cop nodded.

They waited for President Business to leave the room before focusing on Bad Cop again.

"So tell us what happened," Emmet said. "Benny wanted to wait until you were awake to tell us."

"The whole story?" Good Cop asked, lifting his brow.

"Just the good details," Batman clarified. "Probably just the fight. If it were me, I would have-."

"Wait, why are _you_ here?" Bad Cop interrupted. "I only ever said _one_ thing to you."

"Bad Cop!" Ma Cop scolded. "Be nice. He's a guest."

Batman cleared his throat awkwardly and glanced around almost nervously. "I wanted to hear the story too."

Bad Cop dropped his face into his palm. Good Cop then looked up and began to tell the story of what happened after he ended up on the Umbra, with occasional corrections from Bad Cop and interruption from the others asking questions. When they got to the point where he fainted, Benny continued, telling the others what he and Ma and Pa Cop did after.

"Well…" Metalbeard spoke up, having been silent the entire time. He leaned forward and smiled at Bad Cop. "Ye did a good job, lad. Both of ye. Not only did ye beat that space pirate, ye got me best pupil back safe and sound." He pulled Benny up into a one-armed hug.

Benny laughed and tried to slip back into his seat. "I'm just glad to be back. But seriously, I can't apologize enough for Robo-B almost killing all of you guys like that."

"Don't worry, Benny!" Unikitty told him, jumping over next to him and hugging him as well, nuzzling against his cheek. "Everything is happy and awesome now and that meanie Robo-B is gone."

"Will you be going back to Cloud Cuckoolia with us, Benny?" Vitruvius asked him.

Benny shrugged. "Not yet. This is the first time I made it back planetside in a while. I don't want to leave so soon."

"That's alright," Unikitty assured him. "Just come back soon. We all missed having you around."

"Where are you going to stay while here?" Wyldstyle asked.

"He can stay with me!" Good Cop spoke up quickly. "If you don't have a place already…"

Grinning, Benny nodded. "I think I will. Thanks!"

"I think we ought to leave Danny to rest now," Pa Cop said, standing. "Ma and I can show you around before you have to return to your planet."

"Get better soon, Danny!" Unikitty laughed.

The others said similar wishes as they filed out of the room, save for Benny who lingered behind, standing near the doorway.

"You can stay," Bad Cop told him.

Benny let out a breath of relief and hurried back to his seat. "You know, I never realized that… That the only reason Robo-B didn't kill me was because he still had the programming to keep me alive…"

"I guess we all got lucky he didn't then," Good Cop answered. Bad Cop shook his head and sighed. "If you weren't there, he would have killed a lot more people…"

He nodded, frowning. "Thanks for saving me. If there's anything I can do to repay you…"

Bad Cop shook his head again. "Don't worry about it. This kind of thing is my job."

"So what were you two dreaming about?" Benny asked. "It was subtle, but I could tell your face was changing as you slept."

"I got to see Bad Cop smile," Good Cop answered. "And hug him. I can't remember what else."

"We hardly ever do," Bad Cop continued. "I'm surprised we remembered anything this time."

Benny nodded and the two of them lapsed into silence for a while, just staring at things around the room.

"Are you going to be alright?" Bad Cop asked suddenly.

"Probably not for a while," Benny admitted. "Knowing Robo-B killed people is bad enough, but now that I'm likely to face the families of those he killed? What do I even say to them?"

Good Cop shook his head. "I don't know. But you were a victim too, don't forget." Bad Cop frowned at him. "Which is why I want to know if _you_ will be alright. You haven't actually told anyone what Robo-B did to you while holding you hostage."

Benny focused his gaze on the ground, staring for a solid minute before glancing up again. "I don't want to talk about it, dude. I'm sure I'll be alright eventually, but I don't want to talk about it right now."

"That's fine," Good Cop nodded. "But if you ever do need to talk…"

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I'll think about it. What about _you_? Will you be alright?"

"My parents are alive and we stopped the worst space pirate in the galaxy," Bad Cop answered. Good Cop smiled and sighed. "I'll be fine, as soon as they let me out of here."

"Great." Benny curled up in his chair and closed his eyes. "Mind if I sleep here?"

"Not at all," Good Cop answered before yawning. Bad Cop lay down, keeping his glasses on as he shut his eyes. "I'll be sleeping too, okay?"

"Right. And thanks again, man." Benny laughed softly. "Sleep well."

"You too," Good Cop answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end! Thanks for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed the story.


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